Hat gabbier and elevator



(No Model.) 7 I 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

E. D. MEAD.

HAY CARRIER AND ELEVATOR.

Patented Dec. 2

N. PETERS Plwwulho ra mr. Washington. n c

(No Model.) 7 3 SheetsSheet- 2.

' E. D. MEAD.

HAY CARRIER AND ELEVATOR. No. 308,621. Patented Dec. 2', 1884.

"HIIIIIIIIIHNHII I] R R d E l" a I y I %lllllw M limwl mfmmml (N0 Model3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

E. D. MEAD.

HAY CARRIER AND ELEVATOR.

Patented Dec. 2, 1884.

I T/VZZYLQSSQS. Z2@Q1 Ina/anionll'mrnn STATES PATENT Orrion.

EDWIN D. MEAD, OF SHORTSVILLE, NEW YORK.

HAY CARRIER 'AND ELEVATOR.

TJPECIFICATIQN forming part of Letters Patent No. 308,621, datedDecember 2, 1884.

Application filed September 3, 1884. (No model.)

My invention relates to hay or grain ele vators, carriers, andunloaders, and more particularly to that class in which slings areemployed instead of hay forks or grapples, the invention being designedas an improvement upon that for which Letters Patent of the UnitedStates were granted to G. Van Sickle, bearing date January 14, '187 9,and numbered 211,358.

The improvements consist in various novel features and details,hereinafter more fully set forth and claimed, but, primarily, inproviding the shir-pulley block with a head or enlargement to enter thecar, which is in turn furnished with automatic gates or catches toretain said head when lifted into the car; in so constructing theShir-pulley that the lifting rope shall be automatically clamped thereinwhen the device is hung in the car loaded, but set free when the load isdischarged, and so also that the rope and sling may be drawn up throughsaid block free from friction or hinderance to withdraw the sling frombeneath the load; and in a novel construction of the carrying wheels orrollers of the car, whereby they may be readily adapted to either asingle or double rail track.\

Other features will be referred to and explained further on. I

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of myimproved apparatus; Fig. 2, a longitudinal vertical section of the same;Fig. 3, a transverse vertical section; Fig. 4., a detail view of thetrip or latch mechanism, and Figs. 5 and 6 detail views showing theconstruction and arrangement of the carrying wheels or rollers.

Prior to this invention hay or grain elevators, carriers, and unloadersemploying slings instead of forks or grapples have in all cases been soconstructed and arranged that the lifting-rope was clamped orheld in thecar, the shinpulley block being supported solely by the rope or sling,and free to run down to the lower end of the sling when the latter wasreleased to discharge the load.

In order to draw the sling through the car,

to raise the pulley-block to clear cross-beams and timbers in the barnor building in running back to the loading-point, it has been necessaryto overcome the pressure and friction of the rope-clamp in the car, withthe weight of the sling, shirpu1ley block, and car acting to hold itdown upon the lifting-rope, and this has caused very rapid wear of therope. By my construction the rope is relieved entirely of the weight ofthe shir-pulley block and car as soon as the block islifted to the car,and it is held by the car until the latter returns to the loading-point.The sling also moves freely through the shir-pulley block and throughthe car until the metal rings or loops at its ends reach thepulleyblock, thus being removed from under the load and raised above thecrosstimbers, though, being no longer incumbered by the pulley-block,they will move readily over the bearing if not raised. Hitherto the caror carrier has been provided with either separate or double rollers torun on a double-rail track, or with grooved rollers to run on a singlerail; but so far as I am aware no one has ever before provided rollerscapable of ready adaptation to both kinds of track.

Referring again to the drawings, Iwill now explain the construction andarrangement of parts by which I am enabled to overcome the difficultieshitherto experienced and to improve the action of the apparatus. I

A indicates the body or frame of the car, which I preferably cast in twoparts, 13 and O, substantial duplicates of each other, and

which are bolted together, as indicated in Fig.

1. Upwardly-projecting arms a are formed upon each side plate orcasting, B and C, to carry the axles of rollers D, by which the car iscarried, and which travel upon a rail or rails, as is well understood.These rollers I now construct in three parts, I), c, and cl, as shown inFig. 5, the parts I) and (Z having straight faces or being cylindricalin form, while the part c is in the form of a common grooved pulley,being circumferentially grooved or hollowed to fit upon the commonsingle rail,

rope, or rod. WVhen the car is to be used upon I such single rail, thethree parts are combined and mounted upon a common bolt or axle, as inFig. 5, the track being supported at the ends only and strained tight tokeep it from sagging, and the middle part, 0, running upon said rail ortrack, as shown. Vhen, however, the car is to be used upon a double-railtrack, the rails secured to opposite faces of a beam or stringersuspended by rods from above, as in Fig. 6, I remove the throughbolts,take out the middle part, c, from each roller, and attach the parts I)(Z to the arms a, each by a short shoulder-bolt, E, placing the heads ofthe bolts at the inner side of the rollers b d, passing their shanks orstems outward and applying nuts to their outer ends, as shown in Fig. 6.This arrangement not only affords ample room between the rollers for thebeam or support, but it also prevents the bolt E from working out, evenif the nuts become loose or work off, theheads of the bolts in such casecoming against the supporting-beam, as indicated. The change requiresbut little time and obviates the necessity of always providing a specialkind of track. The side plates, 13 O, are each formed with holes oropenings near their lower corners, to receive the journals of dogs orcatches F, which'normally rest against inclined faces or stops f, formedupon the inner faces of the plates, being pressed and held to thatposition by springs g, each bearing at one end against the frame and atthe other end against the dog or catch to which it belongs. The dogswhen in this position extend upward from their journals and inwardtoward the middle of the car at an angle of about sixty degrees, theirupper edges being then separated a dis tance slightly greater than thediameter of the neck of the shir-pulley block G, which neck passes andremains between them when the block is raised to the car, as presentlyexplained. The dogs or catches F are free to rise and move back untilthey assume a vertical or substantially vertical position, to permit theenlarged head i of the pulley-block G to enter and pass between andabove them, whereupon they again swinginward, and, engaging under theshoulder of the head, lock the block securely within the car. The'lowerpart of the car is spread or widened from side to side and fashionedinto circular form, as indicated in Fig. 1, and each plate is formedwith a vertical groove or slot, j, to receive and guide the arms L of avertically-sliding block or casting, H, formed with laterally-projectingears Z, to bear upon the upper faces or edges of the side plates, B O.and thus to limit the descent of the block. The upper end of said blockis furtherprovided with an arm, m,which is formed with a semicircularnotch, n, in its upper side to receive the curved or rounded face 0,forming the upper wall or side of an eye, 1), in a pendulous trip-bar,I, which is thus hung upon and sustained by the arm at, upon which it Jis placed.

is free to swing inward and outward toward and away from the body of thecar. The tripbar I is of inverted-T form, the lateral arms being eachformed with an incline, q, upon which rest the arms 1' of the dogs orcatches F when the latter are in their normal position, the arms beingformed with an offset, 8, to rest upon the inclines q, as shown in Figs.3 and 4.. The lower end of the trip-bar I is provided with a slot, t,and is guided in its movements by a stud, a, formed upon the side plate13 of the ear, and projecting through the slot, the trip-bar having botha vertical movement and a movement toward and from the side of the car,being pressed outward by a spring, 12, to hold its shoulders q under theH offsets s of the arms r of the dogs or catches F. WVhen the trip-baris elevated, the inclines q force back the arms r and elevate andseparate the inner edges of the dogs F, so that the head of theshir-pulley block, if contained within the car, will be released, andpermitted to descend. \Vhen the trip-bar I reaches a certain height, thearms 9* ride out of engagement with the inclines q, and the dogs orcatches F are returned to their first position by the springs g.Thelower end of the trip-bar I is beveled, so that it may readily becrowded back by the arms 1' as it descends until the inclines q passbeneath the offsets s of the arms 9', when the spring a forces the lowerend ontward, carrying the inclines beneath said offsets. The dogs orcatches F are required to be moved back to release the shir-pulley blockonly when the car is at the point of loading, and in order toautomatically release the block at said point the track or its supportis furnished at such point with a stopblock, J, said block having squareends or shoulders. The side plates, B C, are each cast with projectingstuds, 10, on their inner faces, which form pivots for a pair of levers,K, which perform the double office of operating the trip-bar I and oflocking the car at the loading-point until the load is lifted and theshir-pulley block is hung in the car. These levers are each provided attheir outer ends with a hook, 00, having its upper face beveled, asshown in Fig. 1, so that as said face comes into contact with the squareshoulder or end of the stopblock J the outer end of the lever isdepressed and the inner end is correspondingly raised, and as the leversproject in opposite directions one or the other will be actuated,whichever way the car is moving when the stop-block is reached. Bothlevers K have their inner ends inserted into a recess or socket in thehead of the sliding block H, and hence as said inner ends are elevatedthe block 11 and trip-bar I are also lifted, thereby causing the dogs orcatches F to be separated and thrown back, and releasing the head of theshir-pulley block G, which thereupon falls to the floor of the barn, orto the wagon or other loading-point over which the stop-block The car Ais furnished with two pulleys, M. one at each side of the center, overone of which the lifting-rope N is can ried from the shir-pu'lley blockover suitable guide-pulleys down to the team, two pulleys beingfurnished, in order that the rope may be carried in either direction atwill without turning the car around.

From the foregoing it will be seen that when the load is applied and theteam started up the shir-pulley block G, with its lead, will be liftedto the car, the head 'of the .pulleyblock will force back the dogs andpass between them, the dogs at once swinging inward beneath the head ofthe block and looking it in the car, while the head, continuing to moveupward, will strike the lower end of block H and raise it, therebylifting the inner. end of the levers K, depressing their outer ends,anddisengaging, their hooked ends from the stop-block, J, whereupon the carwill be ,drawn along the track by the lifting or draft 2o rope runningtothe team. When the discharg- 3o flange or head, 2'.

ing-point is reached, the shir-pulley block is held fast in the car, butone end of the sling is released so that the load is disengaged, thesling being drawn up through ,the block, if desired, to withdraw it fromunder the load.

Referring now to Figs. 1 and 2,the construction of the shir-pulley blockwill be explained; G indicates the block as a whole, the body of whichis of tubular form, with an annular About midway of its length the bodyis provided with ears 1, between which is pivoted a latch, O, to engageand hold a tongue, P, pivoted in the outer end of a downwardly-inclinednose or hook, 2, upon which the eyes or rings Q of the sling R are hungwhen the load is made ready for elevation. The hook or nose z isinclined sufiieiently to cause the eyes or rings Q to slip off the same,but still serves to sustain the weight to of the load, instead ofthrowing the same wholly upon the pivoted tongue I, as heretofore, saidtongue now serving simply to prevent the rings from slipping off beforethe proper time.

S indicates a triform frame pivoted in the lower end of the block G, onearm extending up within said body, and adapted to press against thelifting-rope, and to hold the same load is hung from the block.

between it and the body of the block when the The other arms arefurnished with pulleys 'I and U, between which the lifting-rope passes,and by which it is guided. The draft-rope is furnished'atits lower endwith a hook which engages with an eye of the sling L, as heretofore, sothat the weight of the load put upon the sling is transmitted directlyto the lifting-rope. As said rope passes over the pulley T, at one sideof the pivot of frame S, it throws the upper arm,

S, thereof inward against the lifting-rope with a force directlyproportionate to the weight of the load, preventing the rope fromrunning back through the block if slackened. Wheu, however, the load isdischarged, only the weight of the sling acts upon frame S, andconsequently the arm S exerts no appreciable friction or pressure uponthe rope, or upon the sling, which is then drawn up through the block toclear the cross-timbers of the roof. The latch O is provided with an eyeor loop, Q, through which a hand rope or cord, V, passes, going thenceinto and up through the tubular body of block G. upward through the carA, over the then idle pulley M therein, and along-the line of the trackin a direction opposite to that of the draft-rope, its end being madefast to the rail or other fixed object. Under this construction andarrangement a downward pull upon the hand-ropeVwill cause the outer endof the latch O to be depressed and theinner end to be elevated againstthe pressure of a spring, W, until the tongue P is released, and theeyes or rings Q of the sling thus allowedto slip off the nose or hook zof the block G, the latch and tongue thus released when the load. is atthe desired point of delivery, the rope or cord V running freely throughthe loop or eye of the latch as the car travels to said point; and afterthe load is discharged the car is drawn back to theloadingpoint by thesame hand-rope, which again runs freely through the car, block, andlatch, giving a double purchase to draw the car back. A quick pull uponthe hand-rope will pull down the latch and release the tongue, asmentioned. The construction thus set forth avoids all wear and abrasionof the rope, relieves it of the weight of the shir-pulley block,prevents the latter from running down upon the sling when the load isdischarged, and generally simplifies and improves the ac tion of theapparatus.

I. desire to state here that I believe myself to be the first either toclamp the rope in the shir-pulley block or to lock or secure said blockto the ear, and these features I claim, broadly, whether the clamp orthe locking devices be made in the precise form here described andshown, or in any substantiallyequivalent'form, it being obvious thatboth may be considerably modified without departing from the spirit ofmy invention.

I am aware that a frame or platform has been provided with a head orenlargement to enter the carriage, and to be held therein by dogs orcatches.

I am also aware that a hoisting-rope bearing at its lower end a fork orgrappling device has been provided with a block or en largement for asimilar purpose. I therefore disclaim such construction. I am not aware,however, that any one has heretofore con structed a pulley-block withsuch a head or enlargement whereby said pulley-block might be heldlocked to the car or carrier while still permitting the hoisting-rope tobe drawn up through it, or after the discharge of the load to be drawndownward through said block, the latter remaining thus suspended fromthe car or carriage.

I am aware that sheaves for pulley-blocks have been made withindependent rotating cheeks or side plates but I am not aware that suchchecks have ever been designed or IIO adapted for use independent of thecentral part, or that a hay-carrier has ever been provided with suchseparate rollers or pulleys.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is 1. In a hay andgrain loader and unloader, a carrier-frame, A, provided with rollersD,consisting of separable parts I), c, and d, and axles E, whereby the caris adapted to be ru on single or double tracks at will.

2. In combination with frame or body of a car or carrier substantiallysuch as shown, pivoted levers K,provided with hooks at their outer ends,sliding block H, dogs or catches F, provided with operating-arms, andtripbar I, carried by block H, and adapted to engage with and move thearms of the dogs or catches, substantially as described and shown.

3. In combination with frame B O, and with levers K, pivoted therein,block H, provided with a laterally-proj ecting arm having a notch in itsupper side, trip bar I, hung upon said arm and provided with inclines q,dogs or catches F, pivoted in the frame and provided with arms 1', and aspring, 2), adapted and arranged to press the trip-bar outward and holdit in engagement with the arms 0, as set forth.

4. In combination with a car-frame having stop-shoulders f, pivoted dogsF, inclining up and inward toward the middle, but free to be forcedapart, substantially as and for the purpose explained.

5. In combination with car A, having dogs or catches F, shir-pulleyblock G, having a head or enlargement, z, to rest upon said dogs, andthereby support the block, and the draftrope N, passing through saidblock G and connected with the sling or load-supporting device below theblock, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

6. The herein-described shir-pulley block for hay and grain unloaders,carriers, &c., consisting of body G, having nose or hook z, pivotedtongue P, and latch O, and frame S,

pivoted in the body G, and constructed and ararranged, substantially asshown, to lock said tongue, and provided with an eye or loop, and ahand-rope,V, passing through the eye of the latch and through thepulley-block and car to a fixed support, whereby the rope is adapted torun freely through said parts when slack, but is caused to actuate thelatch and release the tongue when pulled taut.

9. In combination with a car or carrier provided with looking dogs orcatches, a shirpulley block provided with a flange or projection to beengaged by said locking device, and with a latch, a lifting-rope, and asling attached at one end to the lifting-rope and held at the other endby the latch, substantially as described and shown.

10. A shir-pulley block for carriers, substantially such as hereindescribed, provided with a clamp to bind the lifting-rope within theblock.

EDWVIN D. MEAD.

I \Vitnesses:

A GEO. H. PRESTON, OLIVER S. TITUS.

